1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a facial aesthetic treatment apparatus for removing sebum, dirt or the like debris from a facial skin by application of air suction to the skin, and more particularly to such apparatus with a capability of adjusting the suction force.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-37234, a prior facial aesthetic treatment apparatus is known to include a housing incorporating a suction pump for developing a suction force and an attachment adapted in use to be placed in contact with a facial skin for applying the suction force in order to remove the sebum or the like debris. When applying the suction force over a prolonged time to a delicate portion of the skin, there remains a possibility of bringing about undesired pain or even bruise, i.e., purpuric mark in the skin portion as a result of that the sucked portion of the skin is forced to bulge to such an extent of breaking capillary vessels in that portion.
The above problem has been reduced by the present invention. Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved facial aesthetic treatment apparatus which is capable of regulating the suction force being applied to the skin, and particularly minimizing the suction force immediately as soon as the user intends to stop operating the apparatus, thereby making it easy to remove the attachment from the facial skin and therefore reducing a risk of causing a pain and leaving the purpuric mark as well.
The apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a housing provided with a nozzle and a suction pump for developing a suction force through the nozzle. A tubular attachment is adapted to be coupled to the nozzle for applying the suction force to a facial skin for removing sebum, dirt or the like debris from the facial skin. The characterizing feature of the present invention resides in that the apparatus includes a regulator which alters pump characteristics, for example, load or capacity of the suction pump to regulate the suction force being applied through the nozzle to the facial skin in order to achieve the above-mentioned object.
In one preferred embodiment, the regulator comprises a bypass suction path extending from the suction pump to an open-air end which is accessible by a finger of a user""s hand grasping the housing so as to selectively close and open said open-air end. Thus, the bypass suction path can be immediately opened simply by releasing a finger, i.e., a thumb of the user""s hand gripping the housing from the open-air end. Therefore, the user can be easy to minimize the suction force, thereby facilitating to stop applying the suction force in a prompt response to the user""s intention. Further, since the open-air end can be closed as well simply by placing the thumb closely on the open-air end, it is easy and convenient to apply the suction force intermittently while moving the attachment across a wide area of the facial skin, giving rise to an improved handling of the apparatus.
A flexible cover may be provided on the exterior of the housing to be accessible by the finger of the user for closing the opening the open-air end. With the use of the cover, the open-air end can be free from foreign matter which might otherwise clog the open-air end.
A switch handle provided on the exterior of the housing may be interlocked with a shutter which closes and opens the open-air end respectively when the switch handle comes into -an ON position of operating the suction pump and into an OFF position of ceasing the suction pump. Thus, the suction force can be released through the open-air end from the facial skin immediately upon turning off the switch handle, assuring a safe removal of the attachment from the skin. Otherwise the suction force would continue being applied to the skin even after turning off the switch handle, thereby making it difficult to remove the attachment from the skin.
Further, the regulator may comprise a contractible bypass suction path extending from the suction pump to an open end, and a mechanism of floatingly supporting the nozzle to the housing for allowing the nozzle to move between an extended position of causing the attachment to be disengaged from the facial skin and a retracted position of causing the attachment to be held in pressed contact with the facial skin. The nozzle is forced into the retracted position as a consequence of pressing the attachment against the skin, thereby closing the bypass suction path for applying the suction force to the skin. When the user moves the housing away from the skin, the nozzle is forced into the extended position as the attachment still stick to the skin due to the sucking force. Immediately upon the nozzle moving into the extended position, the bypass suction path is opened to release the suction force, thereby allowing the attachment to be readily disengaged from the skin for safe and rapid removal of the attachment from the skin.
In another embodiment, the regulator comprises a resilient tube extending from the nozzle to an open-air end to define the bypass suction path, and an actuator held in contactable relation with a portion of the resilient tube for pressing it to close the bypass suction path to a varying extent. Thus, the suction force being applied to the skin can be adjusted from maximum to minimum for an optimum facial treatment as well as for safe removal of the attachment from the skin.
In this connection, the actuator is mounted to the housing which is of an elongated configuration having a longitudinal axis. The actuator includes a pair of button sections exposed on an exterior of the housing to be accessibly by a finger of the user""s hand gripping the housing. The pair of the button sections are arranged on opposite sides of the housing about the longitudinal axis such that both of a left-handed and right-handed user can be easy to manipulate the actuator in an convenient manner for adjusting the suction force.
In a further embodiment, the suction pump is configured to include a main pump responsible for developing the suction force and an auxiliary chamber communicating with the main pump chamber. The regulator is realized by an actuator which varies a volume of the auxiliary chamber in order to variably adjust the suction force being applied to the skin for an optimum facial treatment. The auxiliary chamber may be formed by a resilient tube extending from the main pump chamber and terminating at a closed end. The actuator is in a contactable relation with a portion of the resilient tube for pressing it to vary the volume of the auxiliary chamber.
In a still further embodiment, the apparatus includes a humidifier which is disposed in an adjacent relation to the nozzle to direct a stream of mist towards the facial skin for enhancing the facial treatment. The humidifier makes the use of an exhaust air from suction pump. For this purpose, an exhaust path is provided to extend from an exhaust port of the pump to an exit port which opens to an outside air. The humidifier comprises a spray nozzle with a constriction, a water tank supplying the water to the constriction, a switch for selectively opening and closing the exit port, and a bypass exhaust path diverging from the exhaust path at a portion between the exhaust port and the exit port to the spray nozzle. When the switch closes the exit port, the bypass exhaust path is made active to introduce a pressurized air into the spray nozzle for giving an air jet flowing through the constriction. Thus, the water at the constriction is sucked up into the air jet for generating the stream of mist. Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a facial treatment apparatus which is capable of enhancing the removal of sebum, dirt or the like debris with an aid of the mist, while making the use of the suction pump for generation of the mist.
These and still other objects and advantageous features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.